


walkabout

by Pickmeaboo



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Lonely TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Platonic Soulmates Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Protective Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Protective Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Runaway TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Sad Toby Smith | Tubbo, Scared TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Tags Are Hard, TommyInnit Has ADHD (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-21 02:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30014805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pickmeaboo/pseuds/Pickmeaboo
Summary: wandering alone on a loosely planned journey to discover wisdom and knowledge about oneself and the worldORtommy runs away from home because he feels like there’s nothing left for him and tries to avoid his soulmate on his journey
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Jschlatt & Wilbur Soot, Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith| Tubbo & Tommyinnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 64
Kudos: 353





	1. Chapter 1

soulmates. something tommy never wanted and didn’t consider something he ever needed. but now, sitting in his room, alone like he is every night he craves someone the universe selected just for him to be friends. 

someone to talk to, make him laugh, give him a hug, wait outside his class and at the gate of the school to walk the halls with him. here he was, hurting his own feelings yet again. but was he surprised? no, today just like the day before he had not uttered a word to a human being besides when his teachers asked him a question or his brothers asked for a pencil or paper. 

tommy was invisible. 

to his family, to his teachers, to his classmates, to anyone who looked at the ghost of a boy. 

tommy was desperate that someone-anyone would notice that he was desperate to be seen, loved, touched, and given any attention. the boy could recall being loud and boisterous in middle school and beginning of his first year of high school, but now he was in his second year and his only friend moved away. his brother found his soulmate and the pair were attached at the hip, he couldn’t be mad. truly. not when wilbur was so sad the year before when no soulmark appeared indicating he was without a perfect friend. wilbur was depressed, at least thats what his dad told him- wilbur saw a therapist and suddenly even more of his dad’s precious time was taken from tommy. but tommy wasn’t selfish. if wilbur needed the extra attention to feel better- tommy was willing to suffer for his big brother to feel better. 

so he waited, and tommy thought things would be different when the soulmark appeared one day on his big brothers arm. instead when the mark appeared- his dad was so relieved its all anyone could talk about for weeks and well; tommy wasn’t going to ruin the hapiness of someone else to make himself feel better. schlatt and wilbur were sweet friends, an odd pairing as they were both loud but wilbur was so friendly and talkative while schlatt came across as grumpy and a bit of a loner. schlatt was sweet to tommy though, even when he showed up to spend time with wilbur. schlatt asked about tommy’s day, he made sure to cook for him as well, grab him a coke can when he went to grab himself a drink, and even played a few rounds of video games when wilbur “was driving him crazy”. 

technoblade, wilbur’s twin was another story, while technoblade was a man of few words he had inherited their fathers since of work and kept himself as busy as he could be. technoblade was saving money for college and a car, meaning he worked two jobs and attempted to balance his semblance of a social life and school. wilbur may not have been worried about school- but tommy and technoblade didn’t hold the same sentiment. 

school was easier for technoblade, he wasn’t dyslexic or suffer from adhd like tommy. in the late hours of the evening or truly it was the early hours of the morning when tommy was finally finishing his homework he found himself jealous of techno who was sound asleep for hours with homework done. awaiting an +a he knew he would receive, techno once yelled at tommy for interrupting tommy during his hours of studying; becoming a doctor would require a sacrifice of his personal time according to techno. 

during school days tommy would stay quiet, and no one messed with him, but then again no one talked to him. he supposed it was partially his fault, while his only friend left, everyone else had made their friends the year prior which left tommy out of any groups. daniel was a loner too when tommy met him, but the pair had been inseparable until a few months ago when his family moved to another country. he hadn’t been surprised when daniel ghosted him, it still hurt- but wilbur had warned him when he drove tommy home from saying goodbye that living in an opposite time zone, thousands of miles apart would changer their friendship. tommy had suspected the same, but rather than expect the worst he had hoped that when daniel told him he would text everyday and they would facetime he had meant it. 

things with daniel were done, nothing could be changed. besides like tommy, his best friend had a soulmark meaning he was never truly going to be tommy’s. daniel never belonged to tommy, he didn’t owe the blonde anything but it still hurt when he stopped replying. 

the past year for tommy had been nothing but going downhill, one thing after another pushed tommy further into isolation. but rather than sit and mope about how his brothers only spoke to him to argue, or how his dad opening a new location had taken yet another chunk out of his nonexistent family time, or how his only friend ghosted him, how school was becoming more difficult and tommy couldn’t cope- tommy decided to do something. 

a walkabout. the term was australian or something- tommy couldn’t exaclty remember but his teacher discussed the old practice of young men leaving everything they knew and exploring the world and finding answers to questions they didn’t know they had. tommy knew the moment he heard about it- this was what he needed. except tommy had no intention of ever returning ‘home’.

the adventure wasn’t too hard to prepare for, tommy loved books and so the past few months he had collected more survival books, travel guides and adulting 101 and no one noticed or cared.

tommy could get a job, travel somewhere he had read about and embrace his new life. 

tommy had money, he hoarded everything, that was what wilbur said at least, when tommy offered to lend him money for a new guitar. wilbur was dumbstruck that tommy kept birthday money, christmas money, any money he had recieved and simply stashed the cash. he was waiting for something worthwhile to spend the cash. 

tommy had 2,468.79 dollars to his name. this was enough to start his new life, it would be tight but he could do it. 

the clothes and paperwork were slightly difficult to obtain. he had to lie to his dad about his need for a new winter coat and getting his passport and birth certificate was difficult. tommy made up a school field trip and needing the documents for legal reasons- he kept the documents in a folder in his backpack. the coat was easier however- tommy hardly spent money on clothes but to desire a thick winter coat when they were in spring was difficult to rationalize. techno ended up taking him, a true blessing, as the man sat in the mall food court and studied while tommy gathered his supplies. 

the food for travel days was easy to get, techno did the shopping and tommy made sure to space out his requests for certain items before storing them under his bed. 

now all that was left was the timing, when to leave? tommy had the perfect day planned. wilbur had a school play meaning his dad would be leaving work early to attend the play and that meant he would go home earlier than he would have otherwise. tommy wouldn’t have to guess when his dad would get home- which was sporadic times, he would be home and asleep by ten at the latest. wilbur slept like a fucking rock after plays, a relief from his normal light sleeping. tommy was always quiet when he had snuck out with daniel but wilbur caught him every time. the man could hear your breathing from another floor behind his bedroom wall. it was truly frightening. now technoblade, like his father would attend the play but he would spend the evening making up for study time. so 4:30 was when tommy planned to leave, the day couldn’t come fast enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw: mentioned self harm, to avoid: (skip the sixth night, and go to the night of the play)
> 
> i loved the comments and appreciate suggestions or constructive criticism, hope you enjoy!

the week prior to his walkabout was anxiety inducing- every argument with his brothers, every meal he shared with his family, every time a teacher asked to stay after class tommy thought they knew. but nothing happened, no one confronted tommy and in return he offered no indication that anything was about to happen. that tommy was going to disappear without a trace. yet careful eyes could see that the young blonde was exhibiting some red flags, tommy returned any books lent from the library and returned home without another stack of books, he stopped studying entirely finding that there was no point, tommy had even downloaded songs onto an iPod shuffle rather than his somewhat brand new iPhone (he didn't want to be found through gps; though he doubted his family would know they could do that), tommy didn't have social media but deleted his reddit, and factory wiped his iphone. tommy may not have had a lot to hide but the thought of his brothers going through his accounts and photos made his stomach turn, so he saved himself the anxiety and wiped the phone. the physical aspect of the journey was easy to prepare for, however the emotional response tommy felt when he realized he wouldn't see his family was debilitating. every night leading up to the play tommy cried, every time he sobbed into his pillow or in the shower it was over something different. 

the first night he cried was due to guilt for wanting to abandon his family- he was lucky to even have a family that took care of him and he knew other kids would never abandon a family if they could have one. 

the second night he cried thinking about how his family may feel about him- and the worst thought- that they might be relieved of without presence, he was ever the downer as wilbur and techno called him. 

the third night his cat if he could even call him that- he was wilbur's after all- seemed to sense his sadness and crawled into bed and sat on his chest while tommy silently cried. tommy would miss spooky, a dumb name for the white and black cat but he supposed halloween obsessed nine year old wilbur could have potentially come up with a worse nickname for the stray. he loved the sweet cat who would come check on him in the middle of the night and chirp at him when he got home from school until tommy pet the cat for at least five minutes. spooky was loved- the cat dispersed his time between the three brothers but always ended up sleeping with his dad every night, and on the third night when he comforted him it broke his heart. just like every night- he was doomed to be alone. 

the fourth night tommy had an anxiety attack that wrecked him for the evening and through the next day, his teacher asked him to stay after class only to tell tommy that if he failed another test his dad would be called. tommy was never going to have to fail another math test- so he shrugged it off and his teacher in return told him he needed to try harder and he was giving him an out because he knew he was having trouble making friends. ouch. tommy survived the car ride home with schlatt, wilbur, and techno without tears shed but when wilbur snapped at him for bringing down the mood when the soulmates sang hamilton his heart ached. tommy ruined his chance to get involved with his brother- to mess around and when tommy refused to sing his verses for the song schlatt stepped in and wilbur was quick to praise his soulmate and chastise tommy. tommy didn't feel like singing- his day was too difficult. that night tommy could feel an anxiety attack coming so he went into the shower and hoped the shower alongside his blasting music would drown out his sobbing- he supposed it did because thirty minutes into his shower techno banged on the door to scream about how inconsiderate it was to waste all the hot water. 

the fifth night tommy was emotionally exhausted from his night before and he supposed that's why schlatt's words echoed in his head that night when he cried. schlatt approached him after the siblings and schlatt carpooled home from schoool- tommy was quick to retreat to his room only to have his wallowing interrupted by schlatt in his door frame. "you okay tommy? because if something is wrong man i am happy to talk, even to just listen or sit in silence." schlatt's concern- any concern or care for tommy was what he wanted- but it was too late and besides his loyalty was truly with wil who had popped his head into his room and told tommy to 'fuck off' before taking his soulmates hand to go for ice cream. the guilt of brushing off schlatt physically burned tommy- he felt entirely worthless for being unable to ground himself by the teenagers words, how much of a child- child desperate for attention- for him to sob over basic human decency. 

the sixth night tommy cried about how unlovable he was- the previous night he had cut himself all over his arms- a problem tommy and daniel dealt with a year prior but now the hard work was undone. daniel never told anyone that tommy cut himself- he threatened to- countless times especially one particular night when tommy called daniel sobbing about how the bleeding wouldn't stop. the pair thought tommy cut through an artery but after some pressure on the wounds they finally stopped and daniel told him it was all his heart could take- so tommy hadn't hurt himself after that. he wanted to- in fact he craved to- but every morning when daniel would sit on his front porch with a homemade breakfast burrito waiting for school tommy would melt. the night before the play tommy wrestled with his guilt for letting down Daniel, but his brain was quick to remind him that daniel had abandoned him. did he really owe him anything? 

the night of the play tommy was thankful for the crisp England weather- he was wearing a bulky thick knit white sweater and light jeans- an outfit tommy liked- he was positive there would be a family picture. tommy bought a disposal camera for the night- he figured he could develop his family photo to keep with him when he really missed them. the cheap green camera could take twenty seven pictures, tommy knew that was more than enough to get a few pictures of what mattered to him- including spooky and schlatt. techno and tommy had been tasked with finding good seats for the play and holding them for his dad, schlatt, niki, minx, dream, george, and sapnap. the twins had a lot of friends- something tommy often found himself jealous of- all of his friends were kind to one another and they spent every weekend together. the two brothers sat in silence- the grouping of seats separated them too far to talk- which both were thankful for. techno was studying and tommy was mindlessly looking through the crowd while listening to sad emo music- that's what his dad had teasingly called it when tommy's phone connected to the car on accident and began a slow tune for their journey to their aunts house. wilbur and techno teased him about being a goth- tommy didn't handle the teasing well and told his older brothers to 'fuck off and listen to their indie shite' somehow tommy was in trouble but his brothers didn't even receive a side ways glance. schlatt gave him a pity face- and pulled out headphones- they were cheap but the gesture was so genuinely kind tommy didn't want to tell the boy he already had headphones. 

it turned out that saving seats for nearly forty five minutes was meaningless- techno and tommy spotted the familiar faces of the twins friends all snagging seats a few rows in front. techno's phone chimed and he walked over to tommy to alert him that he would be sitting alone with his dad- tommy wasn't angry- he understood wanting to sit with your friends rather than your family. tommy just wished he had friends to ditch his family for- rather than waiting anxiously for his dad to find him in a crowd. it would have been easier to spot tommmy if his dad hadn't come as the lights were turning off and the music was beginning for the play. tommy shook his head and pulled his headphones into his pocket- the guilt from the previous nights washing away- how could he feel guilty for leaving a family that ditched him and barely managed to come to a ridiculously important event on time? wilbur had talked and rehearsed his lines for the play for weeks and hours in the house- phil had to know this night meant everything for the brunette but he still managed to be late. tommy was normally a quiet kid but when his dad leant over to ask the name of the play- tommy couldn't contain the eye roll and his "your fucking kidding right?" his dad- ever the sensitive asshole rolled his eyes in return and the pair sat in uncomfortable silence for the length of the first part of the play. intermission came and went- tommy stayed in his seat while his dad found techno and came back with concession items. he wordlessly placed a coke in Tommy's cup holder before turning back to the stage- awaiting the second half of the play. the play was good- despite the fact that wilbur was mad they picked a play rather than a musical- clue was an excellent choice for entertainment. tommy had no complaints for his big brothers final performance- he might even be a little proud- but that was never going to be said to the egotistical asshat. 

after the play ended everything happened so fast- his dad left to find wilbur and congratulate him while tommy quietly looked for his older brother and his friends, they would be a better shot at finding the tall brunette. tommy stood and watched wilbur's interactions with his friends- they brought him flowers and cards with chocolate promising him a cheap dinner as congratulations. techno had wordlessly nodded before standing next to tommy and watching everything unfold. his dad had been tasked with taking pictures of the group- and it took thirty minutes for everyone to file out- tommy thought he might loose his opportunity for a picture when schlatt offered to take a family picture. tommy interjected and said he would take the picture of the four men on his camera- he lied about seeing the trend of the disposal camera on instagram so his family posed and he got a smiling and a silly picture to treasure in his camera. truthfully- tommy didn't even have instagram. twenty four pictures were yet to be taken- tommy could take some pictures of his adventure in finding a new home. he had his pictures of spooky and his family and that's all he really wanted. schlatt wasn't satisfied and instead asked phil to take two pictures- one of just him and wil and another of the siblings- tommy was grateful for the extra pictures. schlatt had attempted to take the sibling picture before techno and wilbur objected and said he was apart of the siblings- tommy had every picture he could want. his heart broke only a little when schlatt made him pinky promise that when tommy printed the pictures he would receive copies- something about techno and him being difficult to get a picture of. maybe in a few months he could send one back. twenty two photos left. 

while techno and wilbur drove tommy to school- his dad drove tommy home so the older siblings could go to dinner with their friends- a tradition since wilbur was in his first play/musical. the father and son rather stopped at a drive thru eating in silence- the only thing uttered was 'goodnight son' by his dad when they got home- the pair met with the cat at the door. his dad even ruffled his hair before padding upstairs with a loud yawn- just as tommy had predicted. three hours passed of tommy going through his plan meticulously while staring at the dark ceiling before he heard his brothers get home, he waited to move until he heard the final moving teenager to finish showering and climb into bed. he waited an extra hour and a half to move- tommy remembered from school that to enter into REM took time and tommy was patient- he wasn't willing to get caught. four am rolled around and tommy changed into warmer clothes donning gloves, a beanie, scarf, winter boots and the thick jacket he bought when he was with techno. the backpack was full and he slung it over his shoulders- ignoring the heavy weight and instead focusing on glancing around one more time in the room to see if he had forgotten anything, he threw his messenger bad over his neck and grabbed his suitcase- three bags wasn't light but it was as light as tommy could pack. he had packed, unpacked, and repacked his belongs dozens of times in the past weeks- never enjoying how they were stuffed- tommy had to sit on top of the maroon suitcase for it to zip. 

he glanced over his shoulder at his childhood room- expecting to feel some sort of sadness not the intense numbness that he was feeling instead. his phone was on the charger, his clothes picked out for tomorrow on his closet hanging and his laptop was charging- he couldn't rest until everything was ready for the next morning. he was a creature of habit. the stairs were the tricky part of leaving the house- one slightly creaked but tommy simply stepped over the stair and he was quiet as a mouse. he hung his house key in the pantry with the dozens of other keys to random parts of the house- he left through the back door and back gate- fartherest door from his family. the front door was heavy and slightly shook the twins room when it was opened or closed no matter how softly he attempted to close it, so tommy put his belongings at the end of the street before locking the backgate and putting the key above the front door frame. 

he didn't spare another glance to the house as he turned and began his forty-five minute excursion to the bus station which would take him to a train station outside of brighton. he would have taken the train inside brighton but his dads friend worked security at the station and would no doubt recognize the blonde a mile away and tommy's tutor took the train saturday mornings to her parents house at five in the morning. that was fine, in order for tommy to not be stopped by train station security for traveling alone- he needed a big rush of people and that meant the nine am train a few towns over- families would flock to leave their city for the day and tommy could just stand close enough to a family and he would be fine. 

the bus driver questioned tommy with his bags and his lack of a parent but he was prepared for this question, so he used one of the pre-thought out phrases. "my parents are split up, my dad is having me take the bus up to my mums house because his car broke down. i promise i'll be okay, i've done this before." whatever this was. running away or going to his destiny? whatever this was- was lonelier than he imagined. 

the bus pulled from its stop and excitement turned to anxiety. what was done was done. nothing would ever be the same- and now he had to think about what he wanted his life to be. and where he wanted to live. and who he wanted as friends. his life was full of choices. options. this would be the first time that the blonde felt dread and anxiety when thinking about his new life- maybe he was more of an adult than he thought. maybe not.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> okayyyy i couldn’t help myself and i had to write about the family discovering tommy missing- mostly schlatt because i love his character
> 
> tw warning for blood/referenced self harm: skip from “tommy was a lost kid- who could be with anyone or be in trouble” to the second to last paragraph :)

thinking back to the previous night of spending hours in dreams garage getting drunk and high while eating their local diners takeaway and loudly daring one another to take another shot in between beer pong- he should’ve known something would happen. peace and happiness arrive before the storm- the storm strong enough to shake the foundation of grown men- strong enough to send grown men to an epitome of darkness. tommy was gone. missing. evaporated into thin air- what was schlatt left to do but spiral? he had known something was wrong- he could have stopped this. he knew tommy was upset the night before the play and yet he said nothing- did nothing. he went to a fucking party. a dumbass decision- something unforgivable. it had only been two hours since the discovery that the sweet. shy. loving. lonely. teenager- child. truly a child incapable of understanding the true weight of his actions- a child unaware of the true intentions and evil of the world had disappeared. tommy was gone. 

schlatt was numb- frozen. half of his brain, the logical side could understand he was frozen but the irrational side- the side that reacts to trauma was frozen in shock and fear. fear that his best friend- his shaking, sobbing, snot filled, post anxiety attack- friend would disappear into thin air if his hand wasn’t held. he couldn’t let go. it may be unfair when wilbur needed more comfort- his tear stained cheeks screamed for the attention of someone to hold and soothe him. yet he was holding schlatt’s hand. a stiff and cold hand- one sat in the same place for the last hour- frozen amongst the traumatized teenagers limbs. schlatt was frozen. wilbur was fearful- this response was something he hadn’t expected- schlatt’s temper indicated when faced with trauma that his body would react to fight. wilbur was ready for schlatt to fight. he wasn’t ready for schlatt to be frozen sitting on the couch. wasn’t ready to hold a hand that seemed lifeless. he wasn’t ready to look again at the blank face of his best friend. his normally expressive face was devoid of any emotion. this man- devoid of everything- was unrecognizable to his best friend who a mere two hours earlier arrived with burgers and loudly sung Hamilton and the American national anthem to enter the watson house’s front door and wake up the sleeping teenagers. tommy and wilbur always slept in on weekends, techno went to the library or coffee shop to study while phil enjoyed the familiar silence of the morning and typically went to brunch with his friends. tommy never woke up before ten on the weekends- everyone in the watson home including schlatt knew how difficult it was to wake the blonde on school days. some days they drew straws or played nose goes to decide who would wake the blonde- but those were always lighthearted debates. waking the blonde may have been difficult but schlatt knew it was worth the few moments tommy would curse at him- because he would slide over with his teddy bear under his arm and expect you to lay with him. wilbur sometimes joined- when schlatt disappeared for too long- his soulmate would come in the room and wordlessly lay on the other side of his younger brother. even if it for just a minute- schlatt would lay perfectly still and tommy would pull his bear to cover his face and snuggle into schlatt’s side and tommy would tell him to “tell me what’re you gonna do today?” schlatt loved tommy- he was his little brother. schlatt would always tell him about his day- and when it was possible he would tell him he wanted to spend time with him as well. video games. watching a movie. having the three of them go to do something- wilbur always picked the activity even when schlatt argued that tommy should get to pick. but wilbur won those arguments- schlatt enjoyed arguing with everyone but wil- he may have a soft spot for the giant- but it was more wilburs ability to hold his own in an argument against schlatt that was the reason wilbur won almost every fight between the soulmates.

“schlatt” 

while schlatt’s body was frozen solid- his mind seemed to be warming up to the realization that his soulmate was safely sat next to him and when he blinked his view found a police detective. finally- someone who was equipped and hopefully dedicated to finding tommy had arrived. it only took two hours for them to arrive. he could hear his name spoken by the man again and took a deep breath into his lungs to clear his mind from the cold clutch of fear. tommy and wil needed him to help. 

“yeah?” the sound was foreign- despite being able to acknowledge that he had spoken- the word- a single word was difficult to both speak and to process. 

“i know this is hard kid, but you were the first one to realize tommy was gone. i need you to tell me again what exactly happened, can you do that for me?” 

he could do that. the memory was seared into his brain for the rest of his life- he would never forget the moment he realized tommy was gone- sweet tommy disappeared. but the action of speaking- that would be difficult. schlatt attempted to repress his feelings- he needed to focus in order to be helpful. wilbur was squeezing his hand gently and rubbing his thumb at a quick pace against the bone in his hand- it made slight friction which seemed to restart his brain enough to come back to the conversation. 

so schlatt retold the memory. every detail whether it was important or not. schlatt was not going to mess up the chance to find tommy by withholding information or deciding what was and wasn’t critical information. schlatt spoke of how he got burgers for the three of them- one without pickles and extra cheese with a side of ketchup- that was tommy’s order. he spoke about how he sung hamilton for tommy and wilbur- it was a musical the two loved and often watched together- they sung hamilton songs on the way to school and back from school. the american national anthem- he sung that because it was loud and wil hated the parts schlatt belted- but it had always worked to wake up the man. schlatt recounted climbing the stairs to chuck wilbur his burger- his soulmate was shirtless and flipping him off while he was hanging half off his bed- the burger being thrown was met with a ‘fuck you schlatt’ and schlatt left him alone to cool down. wilbur was always an ass when he was hungover- and schlatt didn’t want to be on the receiving end when today was going to be a good day. schlatt was much more looking forward to waking up tommy- he was hoping the blonde would be free to hang out with the soulmates- wilbur had suggested going to a trampoline park to make up for the fact that techno and their friends ditched tommy- and left him with phil. it wasn’t a secret that the siblings took care of one another- and tommy and phil had recently begun arguing more- tommy was becoming more apathetic and his grades were decreasing- phil wanted things to be different. wanted tommy to try harder while phil himself made no effort to help him with school or maybe sit and talk with the teenager about what was going on his life. figures. phil had done the same thing with the older twins. schlatt had heard the complaints from both techno and wil. schlatt expected to see the blonde in his room- holding his stuff bear and to break the news that they were hanging out when tommy infamously cuddled him and asked about his day. 

schlatt was not expecting to see a made bed with the teddy bear sat atop the covers staring towards the door. this was wrong. tommy always hid the teddy bear under pillows in case anyone walked by. sleeping with a teddy bear was embarrassing for a fifteen year old according to tommy. schlatt assured him that nobody would care. it was a lie though. kids tommy’s age would care. schlatt couldn’t make sense of the empty room. it may have been eleven in the morning- but there was no way in hell tommy was awake. schlatt glanced around the room- finding everything odd and suspicious. his eyes landed on tommy’s phone- the phone tommy was glued to- tommy used his phone whenever they went out. schlatt had done the same when he was tommy’s age he pretended to text people or he mindlessly scrolled through reddit to avoid talking to kids at school or his parents. tommy would have never left his phone. not even to walk downstairs to the kitchen. schlatt inspected the phone- though he had seen the phone a million times. today the device looked foreign. the phone reacted to the touch and lit up- displaying an unsaved number had texted him. schlatt felt guilty for unlocking the phone. felt guilty because he knew tommy was a private person- he would never do this if his gut hadn’t been twisting with anxiety that something was wrong. something was very wrong. schlatts suspicious about something being wrong were confirmed when the phone unlocked- tommy frequently changed his passcodes- something about security from his brothers prying eyes. the message displayed on the screen threw schlatt into an even deeper and more vicious spiral. 

hey tommy, it’s danny. i’m not sure if you deleted my number- i know you’re mad. you have every right. i wanna talk. call it a gut feeling but i woke up feeling like something was wrong- can you call me or text me? it’s dumb- but you know how anxious i get sometimes. i care about you. please. tom just let me know you’re okay.

schlatt needed to find tommy- now. he was not prepared to learn that when he stormed out of the blondes room and into the bathroom- that it would be empty. the house was empty. he called his name over and over- searching every room. wilbur had joined his search and called his dad to see if the fifteen year old was with him. he wasn’t. and he wasn’t with techno when the soulmates finally got ahold of him. wilbur was hysterical and schlatt- was numb. tommys phone was wiped- his laptop was no use and his room looked perfectly normal- he had even hung his clothes for the next day. schlatt was sat on the bottom step staring at the wall when phil arrived home- followed by techno a few minutes after. techno sat with wilbur while he had sobbed. schlatt could hear he was sobbing but the heart wrenching noise didn’t seem to unfreeze his body. phil called the police on his way home- but the police had told him that until tommy was gone 24 hours or there was signs of a struggle or foul play that their search wouldn’t begin. they had said that tommy would be home safe soon- teenagers gave their family a scare sometimes- he might’ve went to a party and not even be awake. schlatt knew better. tommy was gone- whether tommy had run away or kidnapped he wasn’t out at some party half awake on his way home. phil called the siblings aunt- a woman named noel- born on christmas eve. the watson family- including schlatt adored the woman and her kids- tommy came out his shell around his small baby cousins and was loud and adventurous- the middle child a seven year old named andrew loved spending time with tommy and had called him his best friend on multiple occasions. kindred spirits maybe. andrew was as quiet around others just like tommy- but when he was around the right people the cousins would bubble over with laughter and fill the room with squeals and screams. andrew was going to be crushed. 

noel a secretary for the police station called in favor after favor for the detectives to be deployed to the watson house- earlier than the twenty four hour mark. 

schlatt couldn’t fathom why favors needed to be called in at all. tommy was a lost kid. why did they have to lose twenty four hours of time they could be searching to begin looking for him? why was it so hard for everyone to care about tommy? tommy was a lost kid- who could be with anyone or be in trouble. he could be hurt. dead. schlatt wanted to cry as an image of a lifeless tommy invaded his vision. 

“detectives! you’ll need to see this, we found blood” an officer had intruded the intimate moment- to alert the family and detectives to the traces of blood. blood found on his sheets. blood on the precious bear. blood in the bathroom. blood on some clothes. blood droplets found in so many peoples tommy had been. why was there so much blood? wilbur audibly choked on a sob before throwing his body forward while retracting his knees to his chest- schlatt had to help. seeing blood would make the image in his brain too vivid anyways. tommy couldn’t be dead- he was hurt. maybe. or maybe there was a logical reason for there to be blood in so many places. 

the detectives refused to let the family upstairs. they returned five minutes later holding a grey hoodie in the female detectives hands, the family sat. wilburs uneven breathing was the only sound for a minute while the detectives looked between one another. 

“do any of you know how long tommy had been suicidal?”

the question wasn’t right. the phrasing was wrong. had been. tommy was alive. tommy was alive somewhere. tommy was young. too young to be taking his own life. yet the female detective turned the hoodie sleeves to show blood stains on the arms and the world stopped. there was so much blood. tommy wasn’t dead. tommy couldn’t be dead. where was tommy? 

“oh god” techno looked like he was going to be sick. phil was silently crying while looking at his youngest sons hoodie- tommy only slept in hoodies and basketball shorts. tommy’s arms got cold outside of the covers while his feet got too hot. tommy’s brothers had teased his ‘affliction’ when the family went camping and they discovered tommy sweating in his sleep. schlatt recognized the hoodie from his regular wardrobe- it was a school hoodie. a light grey in coloring. light grey contrasted with the dark red almost brown stains on the hoodie arms. did tommy really get cold in his sleep? or had he been cutting that long? why didn’t they realize? why didn’t they ask? why didn’t schlatt press the boy to tell him what was wrong thursday night? schlatt had made such grave mistakes when handling tommy. and this- tommy disappearing. that was the outcome of schlatt being too focused on himself and wil to notice the blonde struggling. 

“we are checking the surrounding bridges in the area and we have a few units going to the beach as well as the bus stops and train station. we’ll share Tommy’s picture, name, and description with the media so we can have a more widespread reach. it’s unclear where your son is, but we will do everything to find him. the Brighton police department expresses it’s sincerest apologies to your family.”

the detectives flashed a framed photo of tommy grinning next to daniel- the pair got haircuts similar on accident. daniel was insistent that schlatt took a picture- because what were the chances the boys were so similar? schlatt thought the chances were much higher than the younger teenagers- the pair spent every waking moment together; of course they were likely to think the same. tommy grinning. tommy grinning next to his only friend- his only friend that left five months ago broke schlatt in a way he didn’t know was possible. how the fuck could they have not know something was wrong? 

schlatt was numb. again. wilbur was breaking down. again. phil was anxiously pacing while on the phone. again. techno was angrily cursing in the backyard. again. the family was broken apart - without tommy.


End file.
